Method and system for managing communications including advertising content

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method that include combining an offer with media content to generate a notice within a portion of the media content, providing the notice in the designated portions of the media content with the notice during a media content presentation at equipment of a user, receiving an indication of interest in the portion, retrieving marketing information for the portion of the media content based on the user profile including location based information, time based information, and activity information, monitoring an activity of the mobile communication device to determine when the mobile communication device information satisfies a location, time, and activity information that matches the marketing information and determining a communication for the user based on the marketing information and the monitoring of the activity of the mobile communication device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject disclosure relates to managing communications includingadvertising content.

BACKGROUND

Television broadcast companies rely on advertising to pay for mediacontent. Typically, advertising has been passively provided to viewerswithout the ability for the viewers to learn more about the subject ofthe advertising.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of system 100;

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of system 200;

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of system 300;

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method used in portionsof the system described in FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method used in portionsof the system described in FIGS. 1-3;

FIGS. 6-7 depict illustrative embodiments of communication systems thatprovide media services to the systems of FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a web portal forinteracting with the communication systems of to the systems of FIGS.1-3 and 6-7;

FIG. 9 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication device; and

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, maycause the machine to perform any one or more of the methods describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments for requesting more information about advertising content.Other embodiments are described in the subject disclosure.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a method includingcombining, by a processing system including a processor, an offer with amedia content presentation to generate a notice within a portion of themedia content presentation as designated portions of the media contentwith the notice, providing, by the processing system, the notice in thedesignated portions of the media content with the notice during a mediacontent presentation at equipment of a user, receiving, by theprocessing system, an indication of interest in the portion of the mediacontent from the equipment of the user during a presentation of thenotice during the media content presentation at the equipment of theuser, receiving, by the processing system, user information related tothe portion of the media content responsive to receiving the indicationof interest in the notice of the portion of the media content,accessing, by the processing system, a user profile for the user basedon the user information, retrieving, by the processing system, marketinginformation for the portion of the media content based on the userprofile, wherein the marketing information includes location basedinformation for the portion of the media content, time based informationfor the portion of the media content, and activity information for theportion of the media content, determining, by the processing system,mobile communication device information of the user based on the userprofile, wherein the mobile communication device information includeslocation information, time information, and activity information,monitoring, by the processing system, an activity of the mobilecommunication device to determine when the mobile communication deviceinformation satisfies a location, time, and activity information thatmatches the marketing information, determining, by the processingsystem, a communication for the user based on the marketing informationand the monitoring of the activity of the mobile communication device,and providing, by the processing system, the communication for the userto the mobile communication device regarding the portion of the mediacontent responsive to the monitoring determining that mobilecommunication device satisfies the marketing information.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a media processorincluding a processing system including a processor and a memory thatstores executable instructions that, when executed by the processingsystem, facilitate performance of operations that include receiving astream of media content from an interactive television network,receiving offer details from an advertising server, wherein the offerdetails comprises a key, an offer, and marketing information, combiningthe offer with the stream of media content based on the key to generatea notification within a selected portion of the stream of media contentas designated portions of the media content with the notification,presenting the stream of media content including the notificationincluded within the designated portions of the media content, receivinga signal from equipment of a user that indicates an interest in oneportion of the designated portions of the media content. Responsive toreceiving the signal from the equipment of the user in the one portionof the media content, the operations include providing a notificationthat the signal was received in relation to the one portion of the mediacontent to the advertising server associated, wherein the advertisingserver accesses account information of the user from the interactivetelevision network, and that the advertising server retrieves marketinginformation for the one portion of the media content based on theaccount information of the user, wherein the marketing informationincludes location based information for the one portion of the mediacontent, time based information for the one portion of the mediacontent, and activity information for the one portion of the mediacontent, and that the advertising server monitors mobile communicationdevices of the user regarding the one portion of the media contentresponsive to a determination that a location, a time, and an activityof the mobile communication devices satisfies the marketing information,that the advertising server determines a communication for the userbased on the marketing information and the monitoring of the mobilecommunication devices to determine an optimal communication with theuser, and that the advertising server delivers the communication to themobile communication devices.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a machine-readablestorage medium, including executable instructions that, when executed bya processing system including a processor, facilitate performance ofoperations that include receiving marketing information from anadvertising server, wherein advertising server has accessed userinformation of a user responsive to receiving an indication of interestin a notification that was presented during a portion of media contentpresented to the user within a presentation of the media content at amedia processor of the user, and wherein the advertising server obtainedthe marketing information for the user based on the indication ofinterest in the notification, monitoring activities of the user, such asaccessing social media accounts, scheduling applications, messagingapplications, and then providing the activities of the user to theadvertising server, determining a location of interest for the userbased on the marketing information, monitoring a location of the user todetermine if the user is in proximity to the location of interest, andresponsive to determining if the user is in proximity to the location ofinterest, the operations would include sending a message to theadvertising server, the message including the location of the user,receiving, from the advertising server, directed marketing informationfor the location of the interest for the user, wherein the advertisingserver determines an optimal communication to the user based on themarketing information and the monitoring of the activity of the user,and presenting the directed marketing information to the user.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of system 100. System 100 caninclude an advertising application 102 that can present a user withvarious offers and other promotional materials 104. Exemplarily, theuser would have the advertising application 102 loaded on a mobilecommunication device or other computing device. As discussed below, theadvertising application 102 can monitor the user's activities andlocation to determine when best to provide the user with a directedadvertisement or a notice regarding goods or services that the user haspreviously expressed interest in. Exemplarily, the advertisingapplication 102 can be accessed in a mobile device 106 or any othercomputing device.

The promotional materials 104 can include coupons for the particularretailer or service provider associated with the advertising application102. In addition, the promotional materials can contain maps to relevantretailer locations, settings for the retailer or service provider,feedback to or from the retailer or service provider, information fromthe retailer or service provider, social media connections with otherusers of the retailer or service provider.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of system 200. System 200exemplarily provides an external source 202 which provides content toservers 204 and 206. Exemplarily server 202 provides an interactivetelevision system with media content including entertainment andadvertising. Exemplarily, server 204 is an ad server, or an Add-an-Addserver, that can store various offers from various advertiser accounts.Ad server 204 can also store various keys that would identify the offerswith the media content it is to be combined with. The offer wouldinclude data and information regarding the advertisement. Exemplarily,the media content would be combined with the offer through the key toprovide an advertisement to be presented at user equipment. The userequipment would include, for example, a media processor. The offer wouldexemplarily be presented in a notification, such as in an overlay on thescreed. The overlay would include an indication that there is additionalcontent or information available.

Exemplarily, the equipment of the user would receive an indicator ofinterest in response to the indication in the advertising. Next, the keyof the advertising would be used to identify which user or mediaprocessor device has selected the advertisement. For example, if themedia processor presents an advertisement that has been provided with anoffer attached, an overlay can be created from the information includedin the offer. Exemplarily, the information included with the offer wouldinclude graphics to be included in the overlay as well as sounds orother presentation options.

Additionally, server 206 can be a server from an interactive televisionsystem, or a communication system, which provides a combined output ofadvertising or other content with the offers and the key for the offers.Thus, server 206 can include content servers for an interactivetelevision network. Server 206 would exemplarily provide the mediacontent including the offer to a media processor of a user. FIG. 3depicts an illustrative embodiment of system 300. System 300 illustratesan embodiment in which the advertisement is presented to viewers.Exemplarily, the server 206 of FIG. 2 would present media content to aset-top box or other media device 306 on a display device 302. Asexemplarily illustrated in FIG. 3, an advertisement includes a prompt.The prompt would direct a viewer to engage a remote control device 304associated with the display device 302.

Exemplarily, an advertisement is presented on the display device 302associated with the media device 306. The advertisement includes anotification. The notification can be presented in an overlay on thescreen over the advertisement. In particular, the user would be promptedwith an indication that more information is available regarding theproduct or service being advertised. Exemplarily, a sound or visualprompt would instruct the user to indicate interest in the advertisementto receive, among other things, additional information, coupons,invitations to special events, maps to locations to purchase or view thegoods or service, as well as social networking options. For example,contacts from the user's social networks can also be presented withmarketing information related to the advertisement.

Next, the user would use the remote control device 304 to indicateinterest in the advertisement. Exemplarily, the media device 306 wouldregister the response from the remote control 304 and provide theresponse to the ad server 204. Other embodiments can include the userresponding to the notification by other means, such as texting a codethe advertiser.

Exemplarily, the ad server 204, upon receiving the response from theset-top box 306 would provide a notice to the external source 202 and tothe advertising application 102 provided on a mobile communicationsdevice 310. The mobile communications device 310 can be any mobiledevice or computing device on which the advertising application 102 hasbeen installed. The external source 202 can be informed of the user'sresponse and use the information from that response to further learnabout the user's preferences. This information can be provided to theadvertiser for further discernment of the effectiveness of theadvertising, along with demographic information of those who requestedmore information about the advertisement.

Exemplarily, advertising application 102 can access GPS or otherlocation services 308 of the mobile device on which the advertisingapplication 102 is located. Advertising application 102 can alsodetermine a time of day. In additional embodiments, other devices andsocial media accounts of the user can be accessed and notified by theadvertising application 102 or the ad server 204. Other embodiments caninclude instructions for application 102 to access calendars andscheduling applications to determine activities that the user is or willbe engaged in. In yet other embodiments, the location data, activitydata, time data, and social media data can be combined together.

In doing so, exemplary embodiments of the system can determine theuser's location in relationship to retail locations associated with theresponse to thereby provide a reminder, for example, that a locationassociated with the advertisement is nearby. The system can also use thetime data to determine if it is an appropriate time to provide the userwith that advertisement. Once the user is determined to be located nearthe location, the advertising application can provide marketinginformation to the user, such as coupons. In other embodiments, thesystem can decide that, based on the time of day, an advertisement wouldnot be appropriate, despite the location data. For example, breakfastcoupons would not be appropriate in the evening, even if the user isdetermined to be near a breakfast provider that the user had expressedinterest in.

In some embodiments, the marketing information is preloaded onto themobile device via the advertising application 102 while in otherembodiments, the advertising application 102 can alert the ad server 204of the proximity to the location to request and receive the marketinginformation for that location in real time. In other embodiments, theadvertising application 102 can determine when is the best time topresent information regarding the advertisement. In yet otherembodiments, the user's scheduling programs can be accessed to determinewhen the user will be best suited to be provided with informationregarding the advertisement.

Exemplarily, the system can monitor the user's activities to determinean optimal communication for the user. In some embodiments, theseactivities can include an analysis of past responses to thecommunications provided to the user. For example, if the user wasprovided with coupons to the donut store in which the user expressedinterest, the particular coupons used or not used could be analyzed topresent better coupons. In other embodiments, the activity could includethe time in which the communications were responded to or the time atwhich the offers were used. As discussed above, sometimes, the time isconsidered when presenting communications. However, if one user isdetermined to eat donuts in the evening and not at breakfast, then anappropriate change in the time of presenting the coupons would be made.

In other embodiments, the user activity can include analyzing data fromthe user's scheduling software, the user's daily routine, or otherconsiderations in determining the user's schedule to predict when tobest communicate with the user. In some embodiments, an optimalcommunication can be generated by considering any of the time data, thescheduling data, the past usage of coupons data, survey data, andresponses to invitations. In yet other options, the social mediaaccounts of the user can be accessed to determine the optimalcommunication as well as to exemplarily invite or contact persons knownto the user including friends, coworkers, and family members.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, a user would see an overlay over anadvertisement on a display device located at his house. The user wouldthen press a button corresponding to an instruction on the overlay on aremote control that controls the display device or the media processorassociated with the display device. The user's information would then beprocessed by the system and the user would be provided with variousforms of information regarding that product based on the user's accountinformation and other information, such as the user's activityinformation discussed above. Accordingly, in one example, the next daywhile driving past a store containing the item of interest, the user'smobile device will present the user with a notice to that effect.

Exemplarily, the user can be provided with information regarding theadvertisement via the advertising application 102 in the mobile device106. Thus, for example, if the user has expressed interest in a certaincoffee shop, the user would be alerted upon entering into a proximity ofthat coffee shop. In addition, the user can be provided with coupons orsurveys via the advertising application 102.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method 400 used bysystems 100, 200, and 300. Method 400 exemplarily begins at Step 402 inwhich media content is presented to a user or a viewer. Exemplarily, themedia content is being presented via a set-top box or media processorassociated with the viewer. Throughout the presentation of the mediacontent, a notice can be presented to the viewer indicating that moreinformation, including special offers or coupons, are available if anindicator of interest is provided as exemplarily illustrated in step404. In some embodiments, the notice can include an overlay on thescreen directing the user to press a certain button on the remotecontrol associated with the media processor. Exemplarily, the notice isprovided during an advertisement presented during the presentation ofthe media content. In other embodiments, the notice can be presentedduring non-advertisement portions of the media content. For example, thenotice can be provided during scenes in a movie, where the notice would,for example, invite the user to learn more about a certain scene, suchas an Easter egg that appeared during the scene. In another example, anotice would be provided in a scene during a television show to allowthe user to learn more about a product that a character is using.

In step 406, it is determined whether an indicator of interest has beenreceived during the presentation of the notice in step 404. In someembodiments, the indicator of interest can be received via a signal fromthe user's remote control after the user presses an appropriate button.In other embodiments, the indicator of interest can be received by theuser sending a text message, an email, taking a screen shot or pictureof the display that displays the overlay, or by recording the sound ofthe media content being played. The screen shot, picture, or sounds canthen be analyzed by the advertising application, in some embodiments, ora server in other embodiments, to determine if the screen shot, picture,or sounds are recognizable and associated with an advertisement.

If no indicator of interest is received in step 406, the methodexemplarily returns to presenting media content until another notice isincluded in the media content in step 404. If the user does provide anindicator of interest, method 400 would proceed to step 408 in which theuser's profile is exemplarily accessed. Exemplarily, the user's profilewould be known to the media content provider because the viewer iswatching media content provided at a known media processor that providesa subscription service.

The user profile is exemplarily accessed to determine the name, age,location, sex, income, and other relevant marketing information for theuser. Additionally, the user profile would include a description oridentifier of other communication devices that the user owns andexemplarily has indicated a preference to receiving marketinginformation. For example, the user profile information may include amobile communications device number that can receive instant messagesand texts. Additionally, the user profile information can include theaccount information of the application. By having the accountinformation for the advertising application, the user can exemplarily bereached via any computing device or communications device that hasinstalled the advertising application.

Once the user's profile information has been accessed, the user'sprofile information can be updated in step 410. The user profile canhave information related to the indication of interest. Thus, forexample, if the user were to express interest in a donut or coffeecommercial, the preference of this particular taste can be noted. Onceupdated, other similar coffee or breakfast items can be selected forpresentation to the user.

Once the marketing activities are determined, method 400 can proceed tostep 412 in which the mobile device of the user is exemplarily accessed.In other embodiments, the advertising application itself can be accessedin any computing device or communications device to which the user hasaccess. Exemplarily, the mobile device or application is monitored instep 414. Monitoring can exemplarily include observing the location ofthe user, the time at which the user is currently active, andinteracting with various scheduling functions to determine activitiesthat the user is engaged in or will be engaged in. Next, in step 416 itis determined whether the user's monitored actions correlate to themarketing information that is available in the user's profileinformation.

Once an activity is determined, method 400 may proceed to step 418 inwhich marketing communications can be accessed for the user.Exemplarily, an optimal communication is determined for the user. Insome embodiments, the marketing communications can be aone-size-fits-all coupon. In other embodiments, the activity informationof the user is carefully analyzed to present a communication most likelyto be used by the user.

In one example, in situations in which the user indicated interest in adonut shop advertiser, the user's communication device can determine ifthe user is near a location before presenting the user with marketingactivities, such as a coupon. In other examples, it may be determinedthat the user is in his morning routine and therefore it would be anappropriate time to provide a reminder that the advertiser's coffee ordonuts should be purchased. In other embodiments, the advertisingapplication may determine the user is engaged in activity that relatesto other marketing activities, such as going to a gym or a sportingevent. In determining the user is at a gym, for example, marketinginformation including sports related products could be presented to theuser based on their earlier indicators of interest or based on thevarious updates to the user's profile information that would tend toindicate that such marketing activities are appropriate for the user.

In addition, specific marketing activities related to the advertisementcan be exemplarily prepared for the user. For example, these marketingactivities can include coupons, determining locations that would berelevant for the user to visit, and requesting feedback from user toindicate what the user does or does not like about the advertisedproduct. In some embodiments, a map can be provided with alternativelocations to receive the product in question.

In additional embodiments, the user may be provided with invitations tospecial sales events, focus groups, and live events sponsored by theadvertiser. For example, the marketing information may determine thatcertain type of consumer will be attracted to in-store events suchinvite-only (or, for example, an invite only for the first 2 hours ofthe event) events and, if appropriate, provide those types ofinvitations to the user. In other instances, the marketing informationmay determine that certain type of consumer will be attracted theability to express their thoughts and suggestions about a certainproducts. This propensity can be leveraged to turn customers into fansby providing them the mechanism to take an active role in the product orservice. In other instances, the marketing information may determinethat certain type of consumer will be attracted to the ability topurchase a product before anyone else. This exclusivity seeker can beenticed to preorder items that are new or updated.

Once the desired marketing activity is determined, the marketingactivity is exemplarily communicated to the user in step 420 as amarketing communication. In some embodiments, the communication isprovided to the user's communication device or mobile device. In otherembodiments, an alert to the marketing communication can be provided bythe advertising application depending on which platform the user iscurrently logged in at.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method 500 used bysystems 100, 200, and 300 to exemplarily prepare marketing informationfor the user in method 400. Exemplarily, marketing information isobtained in step 502. For example, an interactive television network mayreceive this marketing information from a sponsor or an advertiser, themarketing information may include a commercial to be placed in abroadcast or unicast television stream. The sponsor or advertiser canalso include the marketing information that would be added to thecommercial, such as directions for generating the overlay that wouldpresent the marketing information. For example, as illustrated in FIG.2, the external source 202 would provide the television commercial toserver 206 while providing the marketing information to the ad server204.

With respect to FIG. 3, this marketing information could informationpertaining to the overlay that would be provided to the media processor306 to be displayed on the display device 302. Additionally, thisinformation could include the various coupons, invitations, and salesevents that would be provided to the consumer via, for example, theadvertising application 102. The information could further includeinstructions for the ad server 204 on how to handle the interestinformation, such as forwarding the demographic information of arequesting viewer back to the external source 202 of FIG. 2.

Returning to FIG. 5, the media content would exemplarily be associatedwith the marketing information in step 504. Exemplarily, thisassociation would take place based on a key provided with one of themarketing information and the media content, or both. Thus, in someembodiments, a media content stream would be constantly broadcast. Themedia stream would include advertising content, each commercial thereinhaving a different key. The marketing information for each commercialwould be matched up with the proper commercial. Exemplarily, this wouldprovide the notice that should be added to the media content.

Next, in step 506, the notice would be provided with the media content.Thus, the commercial would be combined with the overlay whereappropriate. In one embodiment, the media processor would receive thesetwo information streams and combine them at the media processor. Forexample, based on the marketing information, the media processor wouldidentify matching notifications and advertisements based on their keysand combine them before presenting the advertisement with the marketing.In yet another embodiment, the media processor could decide betweendifferent overlays for the advertisements based on the particularmarketing strategy for the particular user of the media processor. Thus,for example, one user would receive an overlay that would stress oneaspect of the product being advertised while another user would bepresented with a different overlay. In other embodiments, thecombination would take place upstream from the media processor, such asat an interactive television network server. In this example, theoverlay would be presented for many households that receive a broadcastfrom the interactive television network.

In step 508, the media content would be provided to the subscribers ofan interactive television network. Thus, the media content would bebroadcast, for example, and at certain points in the programming, orduring the commercials, an overlay would be provided directing the userto express an interest in the current media content if interested insales, coupons, or further information.

Step 510 would exemplarily monitor for an indicator of interest from theequipment of a user. Thus, for example, the user would press an “OK”button on the remote control during the presentation of the overlay. Insome embodiments, the user may use the media processor's digital videorecorder function to pause or play back the media content. Exemplarily,the input from the user would be received in step 510 regardless ofwhether the media content is being presented during a multicast, aunicast, an on-demand presentation, during a pause, or during a laterviewing from the media processor's digital video recorder.

If step 510 does not receive an indicator of interest, method 500 wouldexemplarily return to providing media content with or without notices.On the other hand, if step 510 does determine that an indicator ofinterest was received, method 500 would proceed to step 512, while themedia content stream continues to be delivered to the media processor,in which the user profile of the user expressing interest is accessedand then updated. Next, step 514 would exemplarily access the marketingcommunication from the marketing information. Next, in step 516, themarketing communication would exemplarily be generated for the user. Forexample, the demographic profile of the user would be accessed in orderto select from a multiplicity of advertising options for the user.

Returning to FIG. 5, various forms of marketing communications can bechosen from. For example, location based coupons can be accessed in step518. In other embodiments, an activity based coupon can be accessed instep 520. In yet other embodiments, the marketing communication caninclude invitations to live events for the advertiser in step 522. Inother scenarios, the advertiser may determine that it would be helpfulto extend an invitation to a focus group to the user in step 524. Otherembodiments can include providing the user with focused or personalizedbuying opportunities in step 526. In some instances, these buyingopportunities can include live, private shopping events. The varioussteps 518, 520, 522, 524, and 526 are illustrated with dashed-lines asthey are optional communication outcomes for the marketingcommunication. Exemplarily, an optimal communication is determined foreach user depending on a multiplicity of factors. Next, in step 528, themarketing communication is provided to the user, as similarlyillustrated in step 420 of method 400 in FIG. 4.

While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the respectiveprocesses are shown and described as a series of blocks in FIGS. 4 and5, it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subjectmatter is not limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks mayoccur in different orders and/or concurrently with other blocks fromwhat is depicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustratedblocks may be required to implement the methods described herein.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a first communicationsystem 600 for delivering media content. The communication system 600can represent an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) media system.Communication system 600 can be overlaid or operably coupled with adserver 204 and server 206 of systems 200 and 300 of FIGS. 2 and 3 asanother representative embodiment of communication system 600. Forinstance, one or more devices illustrated in the communication system600 of FIG. 6 can perform operations of a media processor that performsoperations that include receiving a stream of media content from aninteractive television network, receiving offer details from anadvertising server, wherein the offer details comprises a key, an offer,and marketing information, combining the offer with the stream of mediacontent based on the key to generate a notification within a selectedportion of the stream of media content as designated portions of themedia content with the notification, presenting the stream of mediacontent including the notification included within the designatedportions of the media content, receiving a signal from equipment of auser that indicates an interest in one portion of the designatedportions of the media content. Responsive to receiving the signal fromthe equipment of the user in the one portion of the media content, theoperations include providing a notification that the signal was receivedin relation to the one portion of the media content to the advertisingserver associated, wherein the advertising server accesses accountinformation of the user from the interactive television network, andthat the advertising server retrieves marketing information for the oneportion of the media content based on the account information of theuser, wherein the marketing information includes location basedinformation for the one portion of the media content, time basedinformation for the one portion of the media content, and activityinformation for the one portion of the media content, and that theadvertising server monitors mobile communication devices of the userregarding the one portion of the media content responsive to adetermination that a location, a time, and an activity of the mobilecommunication devices satisfies the marketing information, that theadvertising server determines a communication for the user based on themarketing information and the monitoring of the mobile communicationdevices to determine an optimal communication with the user, and thatthe advertising server delivers the communication to the mobilecommunication devices.

The IPTV media system can include a super head-end office (SHO) 610 withat least one super headend office server (SHS) 611 which receives mediacontent from satellite and/or terrestrial communication systems. In thepresent context, media content can represent, for example, audiocontent, moving image content such as 2D or 3D videos, video games,virtual reality content, still image content, and combinations thereof.The SHS server 611 can forward packets associated with the media contentto one or more video head-end servers (VHS) 614 via a network of videohead-end offices (VHO) 612 according to a multicast communicationprotocol.

The VHS 614 can distribute multimedia broadcast content via an accessnetwork 618 to commercial and/or residential buildings 602 housing agateway 604 (such as a residential or commercial gateway). The accessnetwork 618 can represent a group of digital subscriber line accessmultiplexers (DSLAMs) located in a central office or a service areainterface that provide broadband services over fiber optical links orcopper twisted pairs 619 to buildings 602. The gateway 604 can usecommunication technology to distribute broadcast signals to mediaprocessors 606 such as Set-Top Boxes (STBs) which in turn presentbroadcast channels to media devices 608 such as computers or televisionsets managed in some instances by a media controller 607 (such as aninfrared or RF remote controller).

The gateway 604, the media processors 606, and media devices 608 canutilize tethered communication technologies (such as coaxial, powerlineor phone line wiring) or can operate over a wireless access protocolsuch as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), Bluetooth®, Zigbee® or other presentor next generation local or personal area wireless network technologies.By way of these interfaces, unicast communications can also be invokedbetween the media processors 606 and subsystems of the IPTV media systemfor services such as video-on-demand (VoD), browsing an electronicprogramming guide (EPG), or other infrastructure services.

A satellite broadcast television system 629 can be used in the mediasystem of FIG. 6. The satellite broadcast television system can beoverlaid, operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system as anotherrepresentative embodiment of communication system 600. In thisembodiment, signals transmitted by a satellite 615 that include mediacontent can be received by a satellite dish receiver 631 coupled to thebuilding 602. Modulated signals received by the satellite dish receiver631 can be transferred to the media processors 606 for demodulating,decoding, encoding, and/or distributing broadcast channels to the mediadevices 608. The media processors 606 can be equipped with a broadbandport to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) network 632 to enableinteractive services such as VoD and EPG as described above.

In yet another embodiment, an analog or digital cable broadcastdistribution system such as cable TV system 633 can be overlaid,operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system and/or the satelliteTV system as another representative embodiment of communication system600. In this embodiment, the cable TV system 633 can also provideInternet, telephony, and interactive media services. System 600 enablesvarious types of interactive television and/or services including IPTV,cable and/or satellite.

The subject disclosure can apply to other present or next generationover-the-air and/or landline media content services system.

Some of the network elements of the IPTV media system can be coupled toone or more computing devices 630, a portion of which can operate as aweb server for providing web portal services over the ISP network 632 towireline media devices 608 or wireless communication devices 616.

Communication system 600 can also provide for all or a portion of thecomputing devices 630 to function as an ad server (herein referred to asad server 630). The ad server 630 can use computing and communicationtechnology to perform marketing activities, which can include amongother things, the dispersal of marketing content as described in FIG. 7.For instance, function 662 of ad server 630 can be similar to thefunctions described for servers 204 and 206 of FIG. X in accordance withmethods 400 and 500. The media processors 606 and wireless communicationdevices 616 can be provisioned with software functions 664 and 666,respectively, to utilize the services of ad server 630 and advertisingapplication 102 of FIG. 1. For instance, functions 664 and 666 of mediaprocessors 606 and wireless communication devices 616 can be similar tothe functions described for the system 100 provided with advertisingapplication 102 of FIG. 1 and overlay presented on display device 302 ofFIG. 3 in accordance with method 400.

Multiple forms of media services can be offered to media devices overlandline technologies such as those described above. Additionally, mediaservices can be offered to media devices by way of a wireless accessbase station 617 operating according to common wireless access protocolssuch as Global System for Mobile or GSM, Code Division Multiple Accessor CDMA, Time Division Multiple Access or TDMA, Universal MobileTelecommunications or UMTS, World interoperability for Microwave orWiMAX, Software Defined Radio or SDR, Long Term Evolution or LTE, and soon. Other present and next generation wide area wireless access networktechnologies can be used in one or more embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 700employing an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network architecture tofacilitate the combined services of circuit-switched and packet-switchedsystems. Communication system 700 can be overlaid or operably coupledwith systems 100, 200, and 300 of FIGS. 1-3 and communication system 600as another representative embodiment of communication system 600.Communication system 700 can include a machine-readable storage medium,including executable instructions that, when executed by a processingsystem including a processor, facilitate performance of operations thatinclude receiving marketing information from an advertising server,wherein advertising server has accessed user information of a userresponsive to receiving an indication of interest in a notification thatwas presented during a portion of media content presented to the userwithin a presentation of the media content at a media processor of theuser, and wherein the advertising server obtained the marketinginformation for the user based on the indication of interest in thenotification, monitoring activities of the user, such as accessingsocial media accounts, scheduling applications, messaging applications,and then providing the activities of the user to the advertising server,determining a location of interest for the user based on the marketinginformation, monitoring a location of the user to determine if the useris in proximity to the location of interest, and responsive todetermining if the user is in proximity to the location of interest, theoperations would include sending a message to the advertising server,the message including the location of the user, receiving, from theadvertising server, directed marketing information for the location ofthe interest for the user, wherein the advertising server determines anoptimal communication to the user based on the marketing information andthe monitoring of the activity of the user, and presenting the directedmarketing information to the user.

Communication system 700 can comprise a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)740, a tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) server 730, and other networkelements of an IMS network 750. The IMS network 750 can establishcommunications between IMS-compliant communication devices (CDs) 701,702, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) CDs 703, 705, andcombinations thereof by way of a Media Gateway Control Function (MGCF)720 coupled to a PSTN network 760. The MGCF 720 need not be used when acommunication session involves IMS CD to IMS CD communications. Acommunication session involving at least one PSTN CD may utilize theMGCF 720.

IMS CDs 701, 702 can register with the IMS network 750 by contacting aProxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) which communicates with aninterrogating CSCF (I-CSCF), which in turn, communicates with a ServingCSCF (S-CSCF) to register the CDs with the HSS 740. To initiate acommunication session between CDs, an originating IMS CD 701 can submita Session Initiation Protocol (SIP INVITE) message to an originatingP-CSCF 704 which communicates with a corresponding originating S-CSCF706. The originating S-CSCF 706 can submit the SIP INVITE message to oneor more application servers (ASs) 717 that can provide a variety ofservices to IMS subscribers.

For example, the application servers 717 can be used to performoriginating call feature treatment functions on the calling party numberreceived by the originating S-CSCF 706 in the SIP INVITE message.Originating treatment functions can include determining whether thecalling party number has international calling services, call IDblocking, calling name blocking, 7-digit dialing, and/or is requestingspecial telephony features (e.g., *72 forward calls, *73 cancel callforwarding, *67 for caller ID blocking, and so on). Based on initialfilter criteria (iFCs) in a subscriber profile associated with a CD, oneor more application servers may be invoked to provide various calloriginating feature services.

Additionally, the originating S-CSCF 706 can submit queries to the ENUMsystem 730 to translate an E.164 telephone number in the SIP INVITEmessage to a SIP Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) if the terminatingcommunication device is IMS-compliant. The SIP URI can be used by anInterrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 707 to submit a query to the HSS 740 toidentify a terminating S-CSCF 714 associated with a terminating IMS CDsuch as reference 702. Once identified, the I-CSCF 707 can submit theSIP INVITE message to the terminating S-CSCF 714. The terminating S-CSCF714 can then identify a terminating P-CSCF 716 associated with theterminating CD 702. The P-CSCF 716 may then signal the CD 702 toestablish Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communication services,thereby enabling the calling and called parties to engage in voiceand/or data communications. Based on the iFCs in the subscriber profile,one or more application servers may be invoked to provide various callterminating feature services, such as call forwarding, do not disturb,music tones, simultaneous ringing, sequential ringing, etc.

In some instances the aforementioned communication process issymmetrical. Accordingly, the terms “originating” and “terminating” inFIG. 7 may be interchangeable. It is further noted that communicationsystem 700 can be adapted to support video conferencing. In addition,communication system 700 can be adapted to provide the IMS CDs 701, 702with the multimedia and Internet services of communication system 600 ofFIG. 6.

If the terminating communication device is instead a PSTN CD such as CD703 or CD 705 (in instances where the cellular phone only supportscircuit-switched voice communications), the ENUM system 730 can respondwith an unsuccessful address resolution which can cause the originatingS-CSCF 706 to forward the call to the MGCF 720 via a Breakout GatewayControl Function (BGCF) 719. The MGCF 720 can then initiate the call tothe terminating PSTN CD over the PSTN network 760 to enable the callingand called parties to engage in voice and/or data communications.

It is further appreciated that the CDs of FIG. 7 can operate as wirelineor wireless devices. For example, the CDs of FIG. 7 can becommunicatively coupled to a cellular base station 721, a femtocell, aWiFi router, a Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) baseunit, or another suitable wireless access unit to establishcommunications with the IMS network 750 of FIG. 7. The cellular accessbase station 721 can operate according to common wireless accessprotocols such as GSM, CDMA, TDMA, UMTS, WiMax, SDR, LTE, and so on.Other present and next generation wireless network technologies can beused by one or more embodiments of the subject disclosure. Accordingly,multiple wireline and wireless communication technologies can be used bythe CDs of FIG. 7.

Cellular phones supporting LTE can support packet-switched voice andpacket-switched data communications and thus may operate asIMS-compliant mobile devices. In this embodiment, the cellular basestation 721 may communicate directly with the IMS network 750 as shownby the arrow connecting the cellular base station 721 and the P-CSCF716.

Alternative forms of a CSCF can operate in a device, system, component,or other form of centralized or distributed hardware and/or software.Indeed, a respective CSCF may be embodied as a respective CSCF systemhaving one or more computers or servers, either centralized ordistributed, where each computer or server may be configured to performor provide, in whole or in part, any method, step, or functionalitydescribed herein in accordance with a respective CSCF. Likewise, otherfunctions, servers and computers described herein, including but notlimited to, the HSS, the ENUM server, the BGCF, and the MGCF, can beembodied in a respective system having one or more computers or servers,either centralized or distributed, where each computer or server may beconfigured to perform or provide, in whole or in part, any method, step,or functionality described herein in accordance with a respectivefunction, server, or computer.

The ad server 630 of FIG. 6 can be operably coupled to communicationsystem 700 for purposes similar to those described above. Ad server 630can perform function 662 and thereby provide marketing services to theCDs 701, 702, 703 and 705 of FIG. 7 similar to the functions describedfor servers 204 and 206 of FIG. 2 in accordance with method 500 of FIG.5. CDs 701, 702, 703 and 705, which can be adapted with software toperform function 772 to utilize the services of the ad server 630similar to the functions described for communication devices 310 of FIG.3 enabled with advertising application 102 in accordance with method 400of FIG. 4. Ad server 630 can be an integral part of the applicationserver(s) 717 performing function 774, which can be substantiallysimilar to function 664 and adapted to the operations of the IMS network750.

For illustration purposes only, the terms S-CSCF, P-CSCF, I-CSCF, and soon, can be server devices, but may be referred to in the subjectdisclosure without the word “server.” It is also understood that anyform of a CSCF server can operate in a device, system, component, orother form of centralized or distributed hardware and software. It isfurther noted that these terms and other terms such as DIAMETER commandsare terms can include features, methodologies, and/or fields that may bedescribed in whole or in part by standards bodies such as 3^(rd)Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). It is further noted that some orall embodiments of the subject disclosure may in whole or in partmodify, supplement, or otherwise supersede final or proposed standardspublished and promulgated by 3GPP.

FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a web portal 802 of acommunication system 800. Communication system 800 can be overlaid oroperably coupled with systems 100, 200, and 300 of FIGS. 1, 2, and 3,communication system 600, and/or communication system 700 as anotherrepresentative embodiment of systems 100, 200, and 300 of FIGS. 1, 2,and 3, communication system 600, and/or communication system 700. Theweb portal 802 can be used for managing services of systems 100, 200,and 300 of FIGS. 1, 2, and Sand communication systems 600-700. A webpage of the web portal 802 can be accessed by a Uniform Resource Locator(URL) with an Internet browser using an Internet-capable communicationdevice such as those described in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 and FIGS. 6-7. Theweb portal 802 can be configured, for example, to access a mediaprocessor 806 and services managed thereby such as a Digital VideoRecorder (DVR), a Video on Demand (VoD) catalog, an ElectronicProgramming Guide (EPG), or a personal catalog (such as personal videos,pictures, audio recordings, etc.) stored at the media processor 806. Theweb portal 802 can also be used for provisioning IMS services describedearlier, provisioning Internet services, provisioning cellular phoneservices, and so on.

The web portal 802 can further be utilized to manage and provisionsoftware applications 665-665, and 774-775 to adapt these applicationsas may be desired by subscribers and/or service providers of systems100, 200, and 300 of FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, and communication systems600-700. For instance, users of the services provided by server 204 orserver 630] can log into their on-line accounts and provision theservers 110 or server 630 with their account information so as toreceive the various marketing communications generated in FIG. 5 anddelivered as described in FIG. 4, and so on. Service providers can logonto an administrator account to provision, monitor and/or maintain thesystems 100, 200, and 300 of FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 or server 630.

FIG. 9 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication device 900.Communication device 900 can serve in whole or in part as anillustrative embodiment of the devices depicted in FIGS. 1-3 and FIGS.6-7 and can be configured to perform portions of method 400 of FIG. 4.

Communication device 900 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 902 (herein transceiver 902), a user interface (UI) 904, apower supply 914, a location receiver 916, a motion sensor 918, anorientation sensor 920, and a controller 906 for managing operationsthereof. The transceiver 902 can support short-range or long-rangewireless access technologies such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi, DECT, orcellular communication technologies, just to mention a few (Bluetooth®and ZigBee® are trademarks registered by the Bluetooth® Special InterestGroup and the ZigBee® Alliance, respectively). Cellular technologies caninclude, for example, CDMA-1X, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, EV/DO,WiMAX, SDR, LTE, as well as other next generation wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 902 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCP/IP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 904 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 908 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device900. The keypad 908 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 900 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth®. The keypad 908 canrepresent a numeric keypad commonly used by phones, and/or a QWERTYkeypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 904 can further include a display910 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED(Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technology forconveying images to an end user of the communication device 900. In anembodiment where the display 910 is touch-sensitive, a portion or all ofthe keypad 908 can be presented by way of the display 910 withnavigation features.

The display 910 can use touch screen technology to also serve as a userinterface for detecting user input. As a touch screen display, thecommunication device 900 can be adapted to present a user interface withgraphical user interface (GUI) elements that can be selected by a userwith a touch of a finger. The touch screen display 910 can be equippedwith capacitive, resistive or other forms of sensing technology todetect how much surface area of a user's finger has been placed on aportion of the touch screen display. This sensing information can beused to control the manipulation of the GUI elements or other functionsof the user interface. The display 910 can be an integral part of thehousing assembly of the communication device 900 or an independentdevice communicatively coupled thereto by a tethered wireline interface(such as a cable) or a wireless interface.

The UI 904 can also include an audio system 912 that utilizes audiotechnology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heard inproximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such as speakerphonefor hands free operation). The audio system 912 can further include amicrophone for receiving audible signals of an end user. The audiosystem 912 can also be used for voice recognition applications. The UI904 can further include an image sensor 913 such as a charged coupleddevice (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 914 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and/or charging system technologies for supplying energyto the components of the communication device 900 to facilitatelong-range or short-range portable applications. Alternatively, or incombination, the charging system can utilize external power sources suchas DC power supplied over a physical interface such as a USB port orother suitable tethering technologies.

The location receiver 916 can utilize location technology such as aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver capable of assisted GPS foridentifying a location of the communication device 900 based on signalsgenerated by a constellation of GPS satellites, which can be used forfacilitating location services such as navigation. The motion sensor 918can utilize motion sensing technology such as an accelerometer, agyroscope, or other suitable motion sensing technology to detect motionof the communication device 900 in three-dimensional space. Theorientation sensor 920 can utilize orientation sensing technology suchas a magnetometer to detect the orientation of the communication device900 (north, south, west, and east, as well as combined orientations indegrees, minutes, or other suitable orientation metrics).

The communication device 900 can use the transceiver 902 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth®, or other wirelessaccess points by sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) and/or signal time of arrival (TOA) or time offlight (TOF) measurements. The controller 906 can utilize computingtechnologies such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP),programmable gate arrays, application specific integrated circuits,and/or a video processor with associated storage memory such as Flash,ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies for executingcomputer instructions, controlling, and processing data supplied by theaforementioned components of the communication device 900.

Other components not shown in FIG. 9 can be used in one or moreembodiments of the subject disclosure. For instance, the communicationdevice 900 can include a reset button (not shown). The reset button canbe used to reset the controller 906 of the communication device 900. Inyet another embodiment, the communication device 900 can also include afactory default setting button positioned, for example, below a smallhole in a housing assembly of the communication device 900 to force thecommunication device 900 to re-establish factory settings. In thisembodiment, a user can use a protruding object such as a pen or paperclip tip to reach into the hole and depress the default setting button.The communication device 900 can also include a slot for adding orremoving an identity module such as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)card. SIM cards can be used for identifying subscriber services,executing programs, storing subscriber data, and so forth.

The communication device 900 as described herein can operate with moreor less of the circuit components shown in FIG. 9. These variantembodiments can be used in one or more embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

The communication device 900 can be adapted to perform the functions ofsystems 100, 200, and 300 of FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the media processor 606,the media devices 608, or the portable communication devices 616 of FIG.6, as well as the IMS CDs 701-702 and PSTN CDs 703-705 of FIG. 7. Itwill be appreciated that the communication device 900 can also representother devices that can operate in systems 100, 200, and 300 of FIGS. 1,2, and 3 and communication systems 400-700 of FIGS. 6-7 such as a gamingconsole and a media player. In addition, the controller 906 can beadapted in various embodiments to perform the functions 664-666 and774-776, respectively.

Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would be evident to anartisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope of theclaims described below. For example, while most embodiments focused ontraditional broadcast media content streams presented at a householdmedia processor and display, other media content presentation optionscould also present the overlays and receive indicators of interest forthe overlay, such as watching streaming movies or television shows on amobile communications device, computing device, or tablet computingdevice. In addition, the generation of optimal communications for theuser can involve contacting social media contacts of the user to createspontaneous gatherings at a location of interest, such as the donut shopor sporting event.

One or more of the exemplary embodiments can include determining acommunication for the user by selecting a type of communication fromamong a group of types of communications that are compatible withoperations of the mobile communication device. For instance, variousfactors can be utilized in the selection of the type of communicationsuch as a format of content included in the communication, activity thatthe user is predicted to be engaged in during receiving of thecommunication, a history of successful marketing (e.g., completedpurchases) that is linked to past communications and the particulartypes of communications that are more successful or less successful. Oneor more of the exemplary embodiments can be based on selectingcommunications, types of communications, recipient devices, and/orcontent for the communications according to a prediction of marketingsuccess, such as whether or not it is more likely than not that the userwill make a purchase when the communication is received. Otherembodiments can be used in the subject disclosure.

It should be understood that devices described in the exemplaryembodiments can be in communication with each other via various wirelessand/or wired methodologies. The methodologies can be links that aredescribed as coupled, connected and so forth, which can includeunidirectional and/or bidirectional communication over wireless pathsand/or wired paths that utilize one or more of various protocols ormethodologies, where the coupling and/or connection can be direct (e.g.,no intervening processing device) and/or indirect (e.g., an intermediaryprocessing device such as a router).

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 1000 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethods described above. One or more instances of the machine canoperate, for example, as the ad server 630, the media processor 606, themobile communications device 310, the media processor 306 and otherdevices of FIGS. 1-9. In some embodiments, the machine may be connected(e.g., using a network 1026) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient user machine in a server-client user network environment, or as apeer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet, a smart phone, a laptop computer, adesktop computer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge,or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a communication device of the subject disclosureincludes broadly any electronic device that provides voice, video ordata communication. Further, while a single machine is illustrated, theterm “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machinesthat individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) ofinstructions to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein.

The computer system 1000 may include a processor (or controller) 1002(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)), a graphics processing unit(GPU, or both), a main memory 1004 and a static memory 1006, whichcommunicate with each other via a bus 1008. The computer system 1000 mayfurther include a display unit 1010 (e.g., a liquid crystal display(LCD), a flat panel, or a solid state display). The computer system 1000may include an input device 1012 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 1014 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 1016, a signal generationdevice 1018 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 1020. In distributed environments, the embodiments described inthe subject disclosure can be adapted to utilize multiple display units1010 controlled by two or more computer systems 1000. In thisconfiguration, presentations described by the subject disclosure may inpart be shown in a first of the display units 1010, while the remainingportion is presented in a second of the display units 1010.

The disk drive unit 1016 may include a tangible computer-readablestorage medium 1022 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions(e.g., software 1024) embodying any one or more of the methods orfunctions described herein, including those methods illustrated above.The instructions 1024 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 1004, the static memory 1006, and/or within theprocessor 1002 during execution thereof by the computer system 1000. Themain memory 1004 and the processor 1002 also may constitute tangiblecomputer-readable storage media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Application specific integrated circuits andprogrammable logic array can use downloadable instructions for executingstate machines and/or circuit configurations to implement embodiments ofthe subject disclosure. Applications that may include the apparatus andsystems of various embodiments broadly include a variety of electronicand computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions in two ormore specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with relatedcontrol and data signals communicated between and through the modules,or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Thus, theexample system is applicable to software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the subject disclosure, theoperations or methods described herein are intended for operation assoftware programs or instructions running on or executed by a computerprocessor or other computing device, and which may include other formsof instructions manifested as a state machine implemented with logiccomponents in an application specific integrated circuit or fieldprogrammable gate array. Furthermore, software implementations (e.g.,software programs, instructions, etc.) including, but not limited to,distributed processing or component/object distributed processing,parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also beconstructed to implement the methods described herein. It is furthernoted that a computing device such as a processor, a controller, a statemachine or other suitable device for executing instructions to performoperations or methods may perform such operations directly or indirectlyby way of one or more intermediate devices directed by the computingdevice.

While the tangible computer-readable storage medium 1022 is shown in anexample embodiment to be a single medium, the term “tangiblecomputer-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a singlemedium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database,and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “tangible computer-readable storage medium” shallalso be taken to include any non-transitory medium that is capable ofstoring or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methods ofthe subject disclosure. The term “non-transitory” as in a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage includes without limitation memories, drives,devices and anything tangible but not a signal per se.

The term “tangible computer-readable storage medium” shall accordinglybe taken to include, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such asa memory card or other package that houses one or more read-only(non-volatile) memories, random access memories, or other re-writable(volatile) memories, a magneto-optical or optical medium such as a diskor tape, or other tangible media which can be used to store information.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more ofa tangible computer-readable storage medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, and HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are from time-to-timesuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Wireless standards for device detection (e.g.,RFID), short-range communications (e.g., Bluetooth®, WiFi, Zigbee®), andlong-range communications (e.g., WiMAX, GSM, CDMA, LTE) can be used bycomputer system 1000. In one or more embodiments, information regardinguse of services can be generated including services being accessed,media consumption history, user preferences, and so forth. Thisinformation can be obtained by various methods including user input,detecting types of communications (e.g., video content vs. audiocontent), analysis of content streams, and so forth. The generating,obtaining and/or monitoring of this information can be responsive to anauthorization provided by the user.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Theexemplary embodiments can include combinations of features and/or stepsfrom multiple embodiments. Other embodiments may be utilized and derivedtherefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Figuresare also merely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certainproportions thereof may be exaggerated, while others may be minimized.Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement which achieves thesame or similar purpose may be substituted for the embodiments describedor shown by the subject disclosure. The subject disclosure is intendedto cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, can be used in the subject disclosure.For instance, one or more features from one or more embodiments can becombined with one or more features of one or more other embodiments. Inone or more embodiments, features that are positively recited can alsobe negatively recited and excluded from the embodiment with or withoutreplacement by another structural and/or functional feature. The stepsor functions described with respect to the embodiments of the subjectdisclosure can be performed in any order. The steps or functionsdescribed with respect to the embodiments of the subject disclosure canbe performed alone or in combination with other steps or functions ofthe subject disclosure, as well as from other embodiments or from othersteps that have not been described in the subject disclosure. Further,more than or less than all of the features described with respect to anembodiment can also be utilized.

Less than all of the steps or functions described with respect to theexemplary processes or methods can also be performed in one or more ofthe exemplary embodiments. Further, the use of numerical terms todescribe a device, component, step or function, such as first, second,third, and so forth, is not intended to describe an order or functionunless expressly stated so. The use of the terms first, second, thirdand so forth, is generally to distinguish between devices, components,steps or functions unless expressly stated otherwise. Additionally, oneor more devices or components described with respect to the exemplaryembodiments can facilitate one or more functions, where the facilitating(e.g., facilitating access or facilitating establishing a connection)can include less than every step needed to perform the function or caninclude all of the steps needed to perform the function.

In one or more embodiments, a processor (which can include a controlleror circuit) has been described that performs various functions. Itshould be understood that the processor can be multiple processors,which can include distributed processors or parallel processors in asingle machine or multiple machines. The processor can be used insupporting a virtual processing environment. The virtual processingenvironment may support one or more virtual machines representingcomputers, servers, or other computing devices. In such virtualmachines, components such as microprocessors and storage devices may bevirtualized or logically represented. The processor can include a statemachine, application specific integrated circuit, and/or programmablegate array including a Field PGA. In one or more embodiments, when aprocessor executes instructions to perform “operations”, this caninclude the processor performing the operations directly and/orfacilitating, directing, or cooperating with another device or componentto perform the operations.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided with the understanding thatit will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can beseen that various features are grouped together in a single embodimentfor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method ofdisclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that theclaimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited ineach claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subjectmatter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimedsubject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a processingsystem of a server that comprises a processor, a first stream thatincludes content, advertisements, and a first set of keys, wherein eachfirst key corresponds to one of the advertisements, wherein the firststream is received from a content source equipment, wherein eachrespective first key uniquely identifies a respective advertisement ofthe advertisements, wherein the server is part of an interactivetelevision system which provides a combined output of the content, theadvertisements and offers: receiving, by the processing system, a secondstream that includes the offers and a second set of keys, wherein eachsecond key corresponds to one of the offers, wherein the second streamis received from an ad server, wherein each respective second keyuniquely identifies a respective offer; combining, by the processingsystem, an a particular offer with a particular advertisement in a mediacontent presentation to generate a notice within a portion of the mediacontent presentation, wherein the combining is based on determining amatch of a particular second key of the particular offer with aparticular first key of the particular advertisement; providing, by theprocessing system, the notice in the portion of the media contentpresentation with the notice to be presented during the media contentpresentation at equipment of a user, wherein the offer is presented asan overlay on a screen of the equipment of the user, the overlayincluding an indication that there is additional content or informationavailable regarding a product or service being advertised in theparticular advertisement: providing, by the processing system, anaudible prompt or a visual prompt instructing the user to indicateinterest in the particular offer; receiving, by the processing system,an indication of interest in the particular offer of the portion of themedia content from the equipment of the user during a presentation ofthe notice during the media content presentation at the equipment of theuser, wherein the receiving the indication of interest comprisesreceiving the particular second key associated with the particularoffer; identifying, by the processing system, the user responsive toreceiving based on the particular second key associated with theparticular offer, wherein the identifying the user is based on therespective key associated with the offer; obtaining, by the processingsystem, user information related to the particular offer of the portionof the media content responsive to the receiving of the particularsecond key and the indication of interest in the notice of the portionof the media content and based on the identifying the user; accessing,by the processing system, a user profile for the user based on the userinformation, wherein the accessing is based on the identifying of theuser, wherein the user profile stores previously known information aboutthe user based on a subscription service of the user; updating, by theprocessing system, the user profile with information about theindication of interest, wherein the updating is based on theidentification of the user; retrieving, by the processing system,marketing information for the portion of the media content presentationbased on the user profile, wherein the marketing information includeslocation based information for the portion of the media contentpresentation, time based information for the portion of the mediacontent presentation, and activity information for the portion of themedia content presentation; determining, by the processing system,mobile communication device information of the user based on the userprofile, wherein the mobile communication device information includeslocation information, time information, and activity information of amobile communication device of the user; monitoring, by the processingsystem, an activity of the mobile communication device of the user todetermine when the mobile communication device information matches atleast one of the location based information for the portion of the mediacontent presentation, the time based information for the portion of themedia content presentation, and the activity information for the portionof the media content presentation; determining, by the processingsystem, a communication for the user based on the marketing informationand the monitoring of the activity of the mobile communication device,wherein the determining the communication for the user comprisesselecting a type format of communication from among a group of typesformats of communications that are compatible with operations of themobile communication device; and providing, by the processing system,the communication for the user to the mobile communication deviceregarding the portion of the media content presentation responsive tothe monitoring determining that the mobile communication devicesatisfies the marketing information.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe receiving the indication of interest is based on user input at aremote control associated with the equipment of the user, and whereinthe portion of the media content comprises an advertisement.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein updating the user profile of the usercomprises updating, by the processing system, the user profile at one ofan advertising server that provides the notice and an interactivetelevision network server that provides the media content presentationwith the indication of interest responsive to receiving the indicationof interest.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the marketing informationfurther comprises invitations to focus groups concerning the portion ofthe media content.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, by the processing system, the media content presentation froman interactive television network.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising determining the activity information by obtaining schedulinginformation from an electronic calendar of the user via the mobilecommunication device, wherein the determining the communication for theuser further comprises consulting a history of the user profile, andwherein the history of the user profile includes one of responses toprevious communications, a user purchase history, and survey responsesfrom the user.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising accessingadditional user computing devices based on the user profile to determinethe activity information.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein theaccessing the additional user computing device further comprises accessa calendar scheduling application of the user executed by the additionaluser computing device.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the location isdetermined by global positioning system of the mobile communicationdevice.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the marketing informationfurther comprises invitations to events related to the portion of themedia content.
 11. A media processor, comprising: a processing systemincluding a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructionsthat, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance ofoperations, comprising: receiving a first stream that includes mediacontent, advertisements and a first set of keys, wherein each keycorresponds to one of the advertisements, wherein the first stream isreceived from an interactive television network which provides acombined output of the content, the advertisements and offers, whereineach respective first key uniquely identifies a respective advertisementof the advertisements; receiving a second stream that includes theoffers and a second set of keys, wherein each second key corresponds toone of the offers, wherein the second stream is received from anadvertising server, wherein the offers comprise marketing information,wherein the marketing information further comprises invitations toevents related to a selected portion of the first stream of the mediacontent; combining a particular offer with a particular advertisement togenerate a notification within the selected portion of the first streamof media content, wherein the combining is based on determining a matchof a particular second key of the particular offer with a particularfirst key of the particular advertisement; presenting the first streamof media content including the notification; receiving a signal fromequipment of a user that indicates an interest in the particular offerof one portion of the media content, wherein the receiving the signalcomprises receiving the second key associated with the particular offer;and responsive to receiving the signal from the equipment of the user inthe one portion of the media content: identifying the user using thesecond key associated with the particular offer, providing anotification that the signal was received in relation to the one portionof the media content to the advertising server, wherein the advertisingserver accesses account information of the user from the interactivetelevision network based on the identifying the user, wherein theadvertising server retrieves marketing information for the one portionof the media content based on the account information of the user,wherein the marketing information includes location based informationfor the one portion of the media content, time based information for theone portion of the media content, and activity information for the oneportion of the media content, wherein the advertising server updates theaccount information of the user responsive to receiving the second keyassociated with the offer and based on the identifying the user, whereinthe advertising server monitors communication devices of the user, basedon the identifying of the user, regarding the one portion of the mediacontent responsive to a determination that a location, a time, and anactivity of the communication devices satisfies the marketinginformation, wherein the communication devices of the user include amobile communication device, wherein the advertising server determines acommunication for the user based on the marketing information and themonitoring of the communication devices, wherein the determining thecommunication for the user comprises selecting a type of communicationfrom among a group of types of communications that are compatible withoperations of the communication devices, and wherein the advertisingserver delivers the communication to one of the communication devices.12. The media processor of claim 11, wherein the presenting the firststream of media content including the notification comprises presentingan overlay containing the notification over the media content.
 13. Themedia processor of claim 11, further comprising a digital videorecorder, and wherein the operations further comprise: storing the mediacontent with the notification on the digital video recorder; receiving acommand to present the media content from the digital video recorder;presenting the media responsive to receiving the command; and receivinga signal from the equipment of the user that indicates an interest inthe one portion of the media content when the notification is presentedduring the presenting the media content from the digital video recorder.14. The media processor of claim 11, wherein the portion of the mediacontent comprises a paid advertisement.
 15. The media processor of claim11, wherein the providing the notification that the signal was receivedto the advertising server further comprises providing user accountinformation to the advertising server.
 16. The media processor of claim11, wherein the activity of the communication device is determined byobtaining scheduling information from an electronic calendar of theuser.
 17. A non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium, comprisingexecutable instructions that, when executed by a processing systemincluding a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:receiving marketing information from an advertising server, wherein theadvertising server has accessed user information of a user based onidentifying the user and responsive to receiving an indication ofinterest in a notification that was presented during a portion of mediacontent presented to the user within a presentation of the media contentat a media processor of the user, and wherein the advertising serverobtained the marketing information for the user based on the indicationof interest in the notification and the identifying the user, wherein afirst stream including the media content, advertisements and a first setof keys was presented to the media processor of the user, eachrespective first key uniquely identifying a respective advertisement ofthe advertisements, and wherein the notification was uniquely associatedwith a second key presented in a second stream, the second streamincluding offers and a second set of keys including the second key, eachsecond key corresponding to one of the offers, and the notification wasgenerated based on a match between a particular first key and aparticular second key, and wherein the advertising server received thesecond key as part of the indication of interest, the second keyidentifying the notification and identifying the user to provideidentification of the user; providing information identifying the userto the advertising server to update the user information of the user;monitoring activities of the user, wherein the activities compriseaccessing one of social media accounts, scheduling applications,messaging applications, and location determining software, and whereinthe marketing information defines scheduled activities of the schedulingapplication that are associated with the indication of interest;providing the activities of the user to the advertising server;determining a location of interest for the user based on the marketinginformation; monitoring a location of the user to determine if the useris in proximity to the location of interest; and responsive todetermining that the user is in proximity to the location of interest:sending a message to the advertising server, the message including thelocation of the user; receiving, from the advertising server, directedmarketing information for the location of the interest for the user,wherein the advertising server determines a target communication to theuser based on the marketing information and the monitoring of theactivity of the user, the target communication being based on aprediction of marketing success, wherein the determining thecommunication for the user comprises selecting a type of communicationfrom among a group of types of communications that are compatible withoperations of the processing system; and presenting the directedmarketing information to the user.
 18. The non-transitory,machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: determining an activity of interest for the user basedon the marketing information; monitoring an activity of the user todetermine if the user is engaged or about to be engaged in the activityof interest; and responsive to determining if the user is engaged in orabout to be engaged in the activity of interest: sending a message tothe advertising server, the message including the location of the userand an alert regarding the activity of interest; receiving, from theadvertising server, directed marketing information for the activity forthe user; and presenting the directed marketing information to the user.19. The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 17,wherein the operations further comprise: accessing a schedulingapplication of the user; determining, from the scheduling application,an activity of interest for the user based on the marketing information;monitoring a schedule of the user from the scheduling application todetermine if the user is about to be engaged in the activity ofinterest; and responsive to determining if the user is in is about to beengaged in the activity of interest: sending a message to theadvertising server, the message including the location of the user andan alert regarding the schedule; receiving, from the advertising server,directed marketing information for the activity for the user; andpresenting the directed marketing information to the user.
 20. Thenon-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein theoperations further comprise presenting a graphical user interface topresent the marketing information to the user, wherein the marketinginformation comprises one of a companies associated with the marketinginformation, respective locations of one of the companies, andcommunications from one of the companies, wherein the communicationscomprise one of a coupon for use at the location of interest, anadvertisement, an invitation to a focus group, an invitation to aprivate event, and an invitation to participate in a focus group, andwherein the directed marketing includes a map of alternative locationsto use the coupon.